Drones for Precision Agriculture: Smart digital solutions for improving rice and pineapple productivity in Benin
This drones project has been implemented by Global Partners in order to improve rural community lives.
An initiative of Global Partners
Overview of the project
Drones have seen practical applications in the health sector by delivering blood to remote areas. They are being used in rescue operations and infrastructure inspection and monitoring because of their ability to reach areas difficult of access. One field of application promising, especially in developing countries, is agriculture. Farmers in developing countries can benefit from precision agriculture services using drones capabilities. Drones imaging systems allow farmers to monitor their crop health (density, height, nutrient or water stress), estimate crop yield, sense soil characteristics (N, P, K, etc.) and identify and react quicker to threats (weeds, pests, fungi). There is also a new generation of smart crop-spraying agricultural drones. With these drones, farmers can accurately apply fertilizers, liquid pesticides and herbicides only where it is needed. They might be able to do it faster than manual spraying operations and more accurately since the drones can automatically keep a record of their past coordinates and eliminate overlay application. These digital solutions are transforming traditional farming system in developing countries as we know it. Global Partners based on their experiences developing and delivering drone services in Benin are scaling up their solution to rice farmers and pineapple producers in Benin. The specific objectives of the project are: - Improve farm productivity (yield and income) through drone-based extension services - Help decrease farmers’ fertiliser, pesticide, and water needs, use and costs using drone generated data - Attract young people to agriculture by training them to become entrepreneurs providing drone services (“dronepreneurs”) and providing them with the necessary equipment to start up. - Facilitate the dissemination of drones-based innovations and the development of drones-based solutions for other crops in BeninThi project makes agriculture attractive to youth, creates job opportunities for them and help increase agricultural productivity while decreasing the negative impacts on the environment and on farmers' health
Ongoing financing
01/08/2019 - 12/31/2021
Self-Funded and partners
About the
organisation
organisation
Global Partners is a Benin based start-up developing and providing drone solutions for agriculture, land use planning, surveillance, and biodiversity conservation. Global Partners has a team of GIS analyst, agronomists, researchers, and drone operators and uses drones with advanced sensors and imaging capabilities to map and analyse crops, monitor infrastructure, road networks and buildings, and assist urban and regional planners. Tailored training are also offered to different stakeholders